Tiger Woods has Greg Norman to partially thank for PIP check

Do you get it now? Do you finally understand why Tiger Woods always received an outsized amount of attention?

It wasn’t just after the wide peak of Tiger’s career, but even during his decade-plus run of dominance, folks would complain about all the attention given to the World No. 1.

Network cameras followed him from car to clubhouse, from clubhouse to practice tee, and lord knows, through every shot over 18 holes.

I’d occasionally find myself explaining why networks did such things — “Tiger Woods lacing his spikes would draw better TV ratings than Davis Love shooting a Sunday 62.” NBC, CBS and the others pay their bills by giving viewers what they want to see.

A kinda-sorta vindication came this past week when Tiger was revealed as the PGA Tour’s $15 million man. That’s Tiger’s payout for winning the Tour’s 2022 Player Impact Program, a media-driven bonus plan based, basically, on how much attention a player brings to the PGA Tour.

This despite Tiger entering just three tournaments and playing nine competitive rounds this year.

Oh, by the way, Tiger also won it last year when he was initially recovering from his leg injuries and entered just one event, a 36-hole exhibition where he could ride a cart.

How Greg Norman helped make Tiger Woods richer

If this type of bonus pool had been around in Bobby Jones’ day, he would’ve had to rethink that amateur status. Arnold Palmer would’ve owned the PIP from the late-’50s onward, even long after the mid-’70s when he was rarely challenging — much less charging — on Sundays.

It’s also fair to say, back before Tiger exploded onto the scene, there were several years when Greg Norman, filled to the eyeballs with golfing talent and sex appeal, would’ve further cashed in on a PIP.

And since we’re here, it’s fair to suggest Tiger Woods owes a chunk of that 15 mil to golf’s Great White Shark, or at least to the Saudis funding Norman’s LIV Golf disruption.

Feeling the need to enhance benefits to the biggest stars, the PGA Tour began the PIP last year with a $40 million tank of money spread among the top 10 players, based on a variety of metrics determining player popularity.

Tiger earned $8 million for topping the inaugural chart. This year, with Norman and the Saudis dangling tens of millions of guaranteed “purse” money at golf’s biggest stars, and along with defending its Bermuda grass in other ways, the PGA…